Noah's Ark
by Attila12
Summary: The ongoing story of a boy named Noah and his best friend, an Umbreon named Shadow. Contains many different genres. Note: Has nothing to do with the Biblical story of Noah's Ark. ON HOLD!
1. Introduction

_Okay peoples, this is my first multichapter story, so please be gentle with the reviews. This first chapter is kinda dull and short. Trust me, there will be a lot more action later. _

_This story contains adventure, romance, humor, and angst. But since the other three kinda go along with adventure, I just categorized it as adventure. I hope you like it! :D_

_**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT OWN POKEMON IN ANYWAY. If I did, their would be a lot more pokemon, less Ash and his friends, and more romance. I do, however, own my human characters._

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"NOAH! GET YOUR LAZY ASS OUT OF BED AND GET DOWN HERE!!"

Noah groaned and half-opened his eyes. He really just wanted to go back to sleep, but he knew better than to disobey his mother. He sighed deeply before crawling out of bed. He cast a look at his Umbreon, Shadow, who was stretching, as he always does after waking up.

"Well, we better go see what she wants," Noah said tiredly. Shadow nodded and walked toward the door.

"Yeah, I'd hate to tick her off THIS early in the morning," Shadow yawned.

Noah smiled. Shadow was his best (practically ONLY) friend. They'd been together since Noah had been given him as a starter on his 10th birthday about 4 and a half years ago by Bill, the professor of Cerulean City. Noah had learned how to understand the little Eevee, who grew to be the Umbreon he is now.

"Well, let's go," Noah said as he opened the door and descended the stairs. He was confronted by his mother upon reaching the bottom.

"It's about time. Now, I want you to go to the store after you get your ass dressed and get the groceries. The list is on the kitchen counter. I'm going to work now. When I get back I expect the groceries to be here, the dishes to be washed, and the house to be spotless, understood?"

"Yes, Mom," Noah said quietly, tired of his mother barking her orders in his face.

His mother seemed to be satisfied that he understood her expectation and left, slamming the door on her way out.

Noah sighed and rolled his eyes. Shadow looked up at him.

"Dude, either somewhat got that one witch out from under that house, or the other one managed to solidify herself," he said sarcastically, earning a grin and a chuckle from Noah.

"Yeah, she needs to chill out. Anyway, I better get to work on her 'orders'," he groaned as he turned and began his climb up the stairs. Shadow followed him.

Noah pulled open his dresser and pulled out a black shirt and a slightly baggy pair of jeans. He pulled them on and went to the bathroom. He looked at his relection in the mirror.

His pale skin contrasted with his shaggy, jet black hair, which covered on of his bright blue eyes. His skin and hair looked kinda grungy. He took a washcloth and got it wet with luke-warm water. He soaped it up a little and scrubbed his face. After he rinsed off the soap, he took a comb from the medicine cabinet and brushed his hair.

'Well, I look a little better now,' he thought to himself. He looked over at Shadow. "Your turn," he said. He got out Shadow's brush and gave him a quick grooming.

"Okay, now that we look decent, let's go get that shopping done," Shadow said, heading toward the door.

The two got the shopping list from the kitchen and headed for the grocery store, Cerulean Market.

"Okay Shadow, you stay out here and wait for me. You know the rule, 'no pokemon allowed'," Noah said to Shadow before heading inside. He grabbed a cart and walked up and down the aisles, grabbing anything he saw on his mother's list.

Then he came to the seafood section. He was shocked to see a nervous looking Corphish inside of a tank there. On the side of the tank was a sign that read "Corphish, 12.49 per pokemon. Specially bred for quality and taste!"

"People EAT pokemon!?" Noah exclaimed. The Corphish in the tank turned to look at him and nodded sadly. Noah lowered his eyes in thought. After a moment, he looked up, determination in his eyes. "Not while I'm around," he said.

The Corphish gave him a questioning look. Noah saw this and explained. "I can't just leave you here to get eaten, so I'm going to buy you and set you free." The Corphish didn't know whether to beleive him or not. Noah walked off and found the person who handles the seafood department.

"I would like to purchase this Corphish, please," Noah told the employee. The employee nodded and used a net to fish out the lobster-like pokemon. Then he bands on its claws and put it into a small cage. "Thank you," Noah said as he placed Corphish's cage in the cart. He walked to the checkout line and took out his wallet.

_'Mom would kill me if I use her money to buy something we can't eat. Good thing I still have the 15 bucks I saved up_,' he thought to himself. _'It's all I have, but it's worth it_,' he added to his thoughts with a sigh. He gave the casheir the money and walked outside.

"Why are you carrying a Corphish?" asked Shadow when he saw Noah with the cage holding Corphish.

"They were going to let someone eat it. I had to do something!" replied Noah. Shadow nodded to show his understanding. The Corphish looked up at him with a surprised look in its eyes.

"You can understand pokemon?" it asked. Noah could tell by its voice that it was a boy Corphish. He nodded.

"Yeah, I picked it up after a couple years of being friends with Shadow, the Umbreon standing in front of us," he explained. "Well, we better be heading home now. I have to get my chores done before Mom gets home or I'll be in big trouble," he said to Shadow. The Umbreon nodded and they began their trip home. They paused by a pond. Noah knelt down and unlocked the cage, letting Corphish out.

"Go ahead. You're safe now. Go on and start a new life," Noah told him before straightening up. He turned and resumed his trip home. About 4 minutes later, Shadow looked behind them.

"That Corphish is following us," he told Noah. The boy turned his head and looked behind him. Sure enough, Corphish was following a small distance away. He stopped and let the lobster pokemon catch up.

"You don't owe me anything. I'm just happy I was able to help. Go on and make some friends and start your new life," he said gently, kneeling down so he could look the Corphish in the eye.

"I know. But you seem like a pretty cool dude. I've always kinda thought it'd be pretty freakin awsome to have a trainer, and the odds of finding a cooler trainer than you are pretty slim. So can I be your pokemon?" Corphish replied.

Noah bit his lip. "Sure, if that's what you want. But if you ever want to leave, you can. I won't stop you," he said.

Corphish smiled. "That's nice to know, but I don't think I'll be leaving. By the way, my name is Crusty." Noah and Shadow smiled.

"Welcome to the family Crusty," Noah and Shadow said in unison. Crusty smiled. _'I think I'm gonna like being in this family of 3'_ he thought to himself.

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Well, there's chapter one. I hope you enjoyed it! Please review!


	2. Nightmare

_Here's chapter 2! Thank you for reviewing GoldenEye! Hopefully I'll get more than 1 review for this chapter, haha..._

Noah tossed and turned in his sleep. He mumbled and groaned incoherently as his legs swung back and forth, kicking the blankets from his bed. His face, arms and back were moist with sweat and his gritted teeth and furrowed brow showed his frustration.

His movements woke up Shadow. The Umbreon stretched and yawned before lighting his golden rings, providing a dim, glowing light for the dark room. He saw his friend's condition and knew he was having a nightmare.

"Duuude...who turned on the lights?" Crusty mumbled sleepily, eyes still shut as he attempted to stand.

Shadow turned his ruby eyes to gaze at the orange lobster. "Noah's having a nightmare," he said, nodding his head toward the still sleeping boy.

"Oh," Crusty responded, now open and alert eyes filled with concern. "Should we wake him up or something?"

Shadow turned his gaze back to Noah, who was obviously still suffering from the nightmare. The black and yellow fox jumped up onto the bed and gently nosed the boy's arm. Noah moaned again and rolled over. Shadow nosed his arm again, this time a little harder.

Noah's eyes snapped open. He quickly sat up and wildly looked around the room. After he remembered where he was, he realized it was just a bad dream and relaxed a bit. He turned his head to look at Shadow, his saphire eyes meeting the night fox's ruby ones.

"Was it that nightmare again?" Shadow asked, his bright red eyes filled with sympathy and concern.

Noah nodded. He had been having the same nightmare about once or twice a month ever since he was eight years old. He didn't know why he had these nightmares and neither did Shadow.

"What was the dream about?" asked Crusty, now fully awake and worried for his new friend.

Noah's bright blue eyes grew a bit dark and he looked down, his jet black bangs falling to cover a part of his face. Shadow gave him a compassionate look before turning to Crusty. "He doesn't like to talk about it," he explained.

"Oh," replied Crusty. "Well, that's understandable. I don't like talking about my nightmares either." Crusty paused before adding, "Especially this one I had once involving President Bush. I won't go into the gruesome details, but I will tell you that it was scarier than a 98 year old man at the beach, playing volleyball in a speedo."

Crusty and Shadow both shuddered from the mental image. Then the two pokemon turned back to Noah, who was now rubbing his temples with his eyes shut and his brows furrowed.

"Headache?" asked Crusty.

"Yeah. I got it last night after that argument with Mom and Dad over whether or not you could live here. It went away for awhile, but it came back," Noah mumbled through his gritted teeth.

"Sorry I got ya in trouble with the rents. At least they decided I could stay as long as I earn my keep. I don't mind doing a couple of chores in return for a good home," Crusty said, sounding a bit guilty, yet at the same time happy at the thought of being able to stay.

"Hey, no need to feel guilty," Noah said quickly, trying to reassure the Corphish. "It's not like you had any say on whether or not to be possibly sold as somebody's dinner."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Crusty said brightly as he rubbed the back of his head with one of his large claws.

"Noah gave a small half-smile before turning to look at the clock. It showed 6:43 a.m. in glowing, blood-red digits. Noah sighed. "Well, you guys can go back to sleep, but I might as well get up."

"Hey, we're wide awake now too so we might as well get up early too," replied Shadow, shrugging his shoulder blades as Crusty nodded his orange, spiked head in agreement.

"Okay, suit yourself," Noah shrugged as he climbed out of bed. He noticed groggily that he was still sticky with sweat. "I'm gonna take a quick shower," he added as he grabbed some clothes and headed for his bathroom.

When he got in, he shut and locked the door before turning the water on. He kept in on a colder setting. He needed to briskness of the cold water to wake him up, besides, he kind of liked cold showers. He quickly removed his boxers and stepped into the stream of chilly water drops, goosebumps spreading across his pale skin from the coldness of the drops.

After soaping up his body with body wash and rinsing the lather off, he reached for his shampoo. He squirted some into his hand and worked it into his his jet black hair, messaging it into his scalp with his fingers. The lilac aroma of his shampoo combined with the messaging motion of his fingers, providing relaxation for his still tense nerves. He had always liked the scent of lilacs, and their aroma helped calm him.

After rinsing the bubbly, white clouds of lather away, he turned off the water and grabbed his towel. Once he was dry, he pulled on his clothes (a navy blue t-shirt and a slightly baggy pair of jeans) and brushed his hair and teeth.

When he was finished, he walked back to his room to find Shadow and Crusty playing a game of checkers. By the look on Crusty's face, Noah could tell he was losing. The teen gave a small smile. He and Shadow were pretty good at checkers and often got into really competitive games with each other.

"King me," Shadow said arrogantly as he landed yet another of his pieces on Crusty's side of the board.

"DANG! I give up, you're too good!" Crusty wailed as he shoved the game board away. Just then, the Corphish noticed Noah and waved a claw in greeting. "Hey! You're done! Were you aware of the fact that your Umbreon is a checkers master?"

Noah smirked at Crusty. "Yeah, in fact, I'M the one who taught him. He's just as good as me now."

"I feel sorry for the fool who challenges you guys to a checker-off," Crusty muttered sarcastically as Shadow finished picking up the pieces of the game and putting them back where they belonged. After finishing his task, the Umbreon turned to Crusty with a smirk on his face.

"Jealous much?" the night fox asked teasingly. The lobster-like pokemon responded by sticking his tong out at Shadow, who just rolled his eyes before turning to Noah. "Sooo... what now?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "Well... I might as well get my chores done. As long as they're done, Mom and Dad won't care if I leave the house for a while. The pokemon pair nodded and the trio headed down the stairs to the kitchen.

After washing the dishes, taking out the trash, folding the laundry, running the vacuum cleaner and dusting, Noah fixed the pokemon and himself something to eat. He had an orange, Crusty had cereal and Shadow had oatmeal.

Once they were finished eating, Noah wrote a quick note explaining that his chores were done and he went out. Then the trio left the house, heading nowhere in particular. For a while they just walked around, enjoying the early morning beauty and the crispness of the morning air.

"So, are we just gonna walk around aimlessly all day or are we gonna go somewhere?" Crusty asked, looking a bit bored.

"I don't know..." Noah responded shrugging his shoulders.

"Why don't we go to Brooke's house? She should be up by now..." Shadow suggested.

"Who's Brooke?" Crusty inquired curiously. Then he got a devious smile on his face, looked at Noah, and added, "You're giiiiirrrrllllfriieeend??"

Noah stopped on a dime, face red with embarrassment and anger. "NO!!" he shouted, looking a bit disgusted.

Shadow only chuckled at his friends outburst before turning to Crusty to answer his first question. "Most of the kids left town when they were 10 years old and received their Eevees from Professor Bill. Noah's mom and dad wanted him to stay home so that he could provide them free labor by doing his chores. Meanwhile Brooke's parents are overprotective, snobby, control freaks who didn't want her travelling around and picking up bad influences. Being practically the only teens left in town, Noah and Brooke became friends despite the fact that they have really different personalities."

"Ooooohhh," Crusty responded. Then he turned to Noah. "Eh, sorry about the girlfriend crack. I have a pretty whacked out sense of humour," he apologized with a chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head with one of his claws.

"You're forgiven," Noah replied dryly. He looked up at the light blue sky with streaks of purplish color still lingering from the dawn. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Well, we might as well go over since we have nothing else to do. Besides, I'm sure she'd love to meet you, Crusty. You guys have a similar, whacked up sense of humour."

"Cool, I'm sure I'll like her then!" Crusty said excitedly with a big, goofy grin on his face as the trio began heading in the direction of Brooke's house.

_Well, I hope you liked it. I realized I didn't have enough to actually include Brooke in this chapter, so she'll come in next chapter. Now, please review! (Pretty please?)_


	3. Brooke

_Thank you for the reviews! As a note, I'd like to say that Brooke is able to understand pokemon for the same reasons that Noah can. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter!_

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Noah and the pair of pokemon stood on the front porch of Brooke's house. He rang the doorbell; DING-DONG! DING-DONG! DING-DONG! He heard scrambling inside and somebody yelled "I'll get it!" Then the door opened and an Espeon poked her violet head out and grinned when she saw them.

"Hi Shadow! Hi Noah! Come on in!" she said cheerfully as she pushed the door farther open and flicked her tail to motion for the boys to enter.

"Hi Sophie. Where's Brooke?" Noah said as he stepped inside, Shadow and Crusty following his lead.

"She's watching CSI," replied Sophie. She noticed an unfamiliar psychic presence and gave the group another look over. She spotted Crusty standing by Noah's leg. "Who is he?" she asked, pointing a paw at Crusty.

"That's Crusty. Noah bought him so he wouldn't get eaten," explained Shadow.

"Cool! That was a really sweet thing to do," she responded, shooting a smile at Noah.

Noah just shrugged his shoulders and looked at the ground. To strangers he would have looked like he didn't care, but Shadow could see the bashfulness in his friends face. Then Noah looked up, gave the group a small smile and walked to the living room. The pokemon followed him.

Brooke was sitting on the couch. Her shoulder length blond hair was streaked with bright purple highlights. The only make-up she wore was eye-liner, which made her emerald eyes really stand out. She was a bit short and about average weight, while Noah was kinda tall and thin. She was wearing a pair of light blue pajama pants with white stars on them and a darker blue t-shirt. She saw Noah and grinned.

"Hey Noah! Glad your here! I was just about to call; your favorite episode of CSI is about to start!" she said, still grinning from ear to ear.

Noah's eyebrows raised. "The one with the photography teacher, the cheerleader, and the jock?" he inquired.

"Yep," she replied.

"Awesome," he said as he sat beside her to watch the show. Shadow and Sophie took their places on the floor in front of their trainers and Crusty climbed up on the couch next to Noah. Brooke noticed Crusty just as he managed to scale the couch.

"Who's he?" she asked, nodding her head toward Crusty.

Crusty cut in before Noah or Shadow got the chance to talk for him. "My name's Crusty! Noah rescued me by buying me from the store before I could be sold as someone's supper!"

Her eyes widened slightly before softening. She smiled gently and said "That doesn't surprise me. He acts all tough and unfeeling, but on the inside he's just a big softie." She smirked and shot a glance at Noah from the corners of her eyes.

Noah rolled his eyes and had a look of annoyance on his face.

She giggled a little and added "That's why he likes ice cream bars so much. After all, you are what you eat!" She laughed again and Crusty, Shadow, and Sophie laughed along. They knew it was true.

Noah cocked an eyebrow. "Well if you are what you eat, I guess it makes perfect sense that your favorite food is the banana," he said, a smirk forming on his lips.

The whole group laughed and Brooke gave Noah a playful punch in the arm. "Are you calling me crazy?" she accused in a joking manner, still laughing a little even as she spoke.

"Hell yeah," Noah replied with a full smirk on his face. The whole group burst into another laughing fit before turning their attention to the TV as the commercial ended.

Soon after the episode was over, Brooke's mother (Naomi) came into the room. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Noah sitting on the couch.

"What is HE doing here?" she said venomously.

"Mom, he's my friend and he's just her to watch TV with me," Brooke replied with a look of absolute annoyance and a bit of anger in her emerald eyes.

"Young lady, you KNOW I don't like that boy or his mutt being in my house, and you KNOW I hate you spending time with him. He's a bad influence and I don't want you hanging around his," Naomi replied.

""I don't care Mom! He's a good guy and you'd see that if you would just look past a person's exterior for a few damn minutes!" Brooke yelled angrily.

"Watch your mouth young lady! Your father and I didn't raise you to be a potty-mouth," Naomi warned.

Brooke growled slightly as her body fidgeted with rage. Noah, Shadow, Crusty, and Sophie stood nearby and watched as the battle between mother and daughter took place, eyes wide and mouths agape. They new better than to interfere with their argument.

Naomi took the silence as an opportunity. "Now you go to your room. You are grounded until I say otherwise and you are not permitted to see Noah under any circumstances."

Brooke's eyes closed as tears of rage poured down her face, slightly smudging her eye-liner. "I HATE YOU!" she screamed as she ran up the stairs to her room. Sophie followed, worried for her best friend.

Naomi then turned to Noah, Shadow and Crusty. "Leave," she commanded, eyes narrowed in hatred and disgust.

The trio obeyed. It was her house, after all.

"Dang. That lady seriously needs to go see a psychologist," Crusty commented as they walked aimlessly around town.

"Definitely. I feel sorry for Brooke and Sophie," Shadow replied.

Noah nodded in agreement before looking at his watch. It showed 12:37 in glowing, green digits. He sighed. It was still pretty early in the day and they didn't have anything to do to kill time.

"Soooooo, what he gonna do?" Crusty asked nonchalantly. A claw moved down to rub his belly as it growled. "May I suggest something involving getting something to eat?"

"I don't really want to go home yet, but we don't have any money," Noah pondered aloud.

Shadow's crimson gaze fell upon a poster and lit up. He turned to look at tthe others and said "Hey guys! I have a great idea!"

_I left you with a bit of a cliffhanger in this one. I pretty much just ran out of room to write the whole next scene. Anyway, that was chapter 3, I hope ya liked it. Please review!_


	4. Gym Battle

_Okay, here's the new chapter and the answer to the cliff hanger! Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long! TT.TT I lost the papers that I had the battle scene written on and then I got caught up in my other stories and almost forgot this one! Again, sorry and I hope you all enjoy the new chapter!_

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"A GYM BATTLE!?" Noah exclaimed.

Shadow nodded. "Yeah, a gym battle. They award you with money and a badge if you win. I think it's a good idea. Besides, Brooke's already defeated this town's gym and I think you should give it a shot."

Noah's eyes narrowed slightly and his brows furrowed. "Shadow, you know how I feel about battling. It's wrong. Humans don't have the right to go around taking pokemon from their homes, then forcing them to fight other pokemon. Humans and pokemon should be treated as equals. Besides, what if you or Crusty got hurt? It would be my fault. And what if we loose? You guys would have worked hard and gotten injured for nothing!"

"Noah, I can't speak for Crusty, but I want to battle. I would like an opportunity to try out my skills and test my strength," Shadow said this a look of determination in his crimson eyes.

"I agree with Shadow! Well... you know... except for the 'can't speak for Crusty' part. I want to fight too!" Crusty said with and excited smile on his crustacean face.

Noah did not look convinced. His arms were crossed and he was frowning. One of his bright blue eyes was hidden behind his obsideon colored bangs, but his visible eye showed that he was not happy at all with the idea.

Shadow continued trying to convince him. "Please, Noah? You could always forfeit the battle if we were loosing!"

Crusty had an idea and spoke up. "Hey, if you're refusing to let us battle when it's what we want, isn't that making us do something we don't want to do too?"

Noah grimaced. Shadow and Crusty had good points. He bit his lip. Finally, with an exasperated look, he said "Fine! You win. It's two against one. We'll do the gym battle, but I'm not going to like it."

Shadow smirked at him and he rolled his eyes.

They turned onto the path that led to the Cerulean City Gym. On the way there, Shadow started quizzing Noah in an attempt to better prepare him for the upcoming battle.

"Okay, who is the gym leader and what pokemon do they use?" the Umbreon asked.

Noah thought it over for a moment. "Brooke said that the gym leader's name is Misty. She used a Corsola in her battle with Brooke."

Shadow nodded. "Okay, so I'm guessing she mainly uses water type pokemon. I can handle that and Crusty should do okay too since water doesn't hurt other water types much."

The trio reached the gym. Noah cocked an eyebrow at the sight of the giant Dewgong that decorated the gym's rook. "Well, it's not exactly my idea of decoration, but I guess different people have different tastes," he said as he led the group through the entrance.

Noah looked around the stadium. There was a huge pool in the center of the room with large, blue rectangle islands floating on the surface of the crystal clear water. He was a girl with orange hair swimming in the pool. He walked toward her and called out "Um, excuse me... miss?"

She stopped swimming and looked around. She spotted him and smiled. "Yes? What is it?"

"Are you the Cerulean City Gym leader?" he inquired.

She nodded. "Yes. My name is Misty. Are you looking to have a gym battle?"

Noah sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."

Twenty minutes later, Noah was standing on the right side of the pool. Misty was on the left and the referee was on the side. The referee took a deep breath and began. "This gym battle will be between the gym leader, Misty, and the challenger, Noah. They will be using two pokemon each. Whoever knocks out all of their opponents pokemon first will be the victor. Let the battle begin!"

The orange haired girl grinned. "Misty calls... Staryu!" she said dramatically as the tan-colored starfish shot out of the water and took its place on one of the blue floating island things.

Noah looked down. "Crusty, are you ready?"

The lobster pokemon nodded his head vigorously and opened and closed his claws repeatedly. He was obviously eager to start. "Hell yeah! Let's get this party started! I gonna that starfish's butt!" He paused. "Wait a minute, do starfish even have butts? If not, how do they take a dump?"

Shadow groaned. "Crusty, do everyone a favor and shut up. Now, get YOUR little yellow butt in the water," he said as he shoved his friend into the water.

Crusty surfaced and laughed. "How did you know what color my butt was? You looking at it or something? Weirdo," he said with a laugh as he jumped onto another of the islands.

Shadow rolled his eyes.

"Staryu, use Rapid Spin!" Misty commanded.

The starfish obeyed and began to spin in the air and head toward Crusty, who pouted. "Hey! No fair! I've never been trained in ninja combat!" he said before jumping into the water. Then he jumped out and used Crabhammer on Staryu, causing it to fall back onto the island. The lobster looked at Noah. "Hope ya don't mind, buddy! I like to play by my own rules, but I will listen to any commands you throw at me!"

Noah simply nodded, kind of relieved that Crusty would be doing some of the battling on his own. He didn't want to give a bad command and get his friend hurt.

"Staryu, use BubbleBeam!" Misty instructed.

Staryu launched the barrage of bubbles from its top point. They were moving so fast that they struck before Crusty could avoid them, creating a small show of sparks as they exploded on contact with his exoskeleton.

"Crusty! You alright!" Noah called out.

"Yeah, dude. I's alright!" Crusty called out, sounding a bit dazed. He shook it off quickly and used Brick Break on the starfish, knocking it to the ground.

Noah saw the opportunity and called out "Crusty! Use Crabhammer on the island! Quick, before it gets up!"

Crusty saw it as well and grinned before obeying. The island sank under his claw and dunked into the water, causing the other end to fly up and send Staryu soaring. The ruffian pokemon then used BubbleBeam while the sea star was in the air and unable to dodge. It landed in the water with a splash. When it floated back up to the surface, its gem was blinking.

"Staryu is unable to battle, the winner is Noah!" the ref called.

Misty pulled a pokeball out of her backpack and returned Staryu. She gave a small smile. "You did great Staryu, have a good rest." Then she looked up. "Don't think it's over, you haven't won yet!" she told Noah. She took a deep breath. "Misty calls... Starmie!"

The amethyst starfish lept from the water and took its place on an island.

"What is with this chick's thing for starfish?" Crusty asked when he saw it. Noah just shrugged in response.

Misty smirked. "Starmie, use ThunderBolt!"

"Red-head say what?" Crusty managed to exclaim moments before getting struck by a yellow zigzag of crackling energy. He screamed in pain before fainting, small burn marks adorning his orange shell.

"Crusty!" Noah yelled. He jumped out onto the island and scooped up the crustacean. He carefully jumped back to the pool side and gently set him of the ground. "Dammit, this is why I said I hate battles! Now you're hurt! I'm gonna call this stupid thing off and get you to the Pokemon Center."

Crusty regained consciousness and gave him an annoyed look. "You better not! You win this thing now or I'll have to kick your ass! I didn't fight for nothing! Besides, Shadow has a type advantage against that thing. It should be easy to defeat!"

Noah sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll finish the battle, but then I'm taking you to the center." He looked at Shadow. "You sure you want to do this?"

Shadow nodded and jumped out onto the island.

"Shadow, use Iron Tail!" Noah called out to the dark type.

Shadow's tail lit up and he jumped toward the sea star. Before he could strike, the purple star jumped into the water and avoided it. Shadow grinned and struck the water while his tail was still in the attack mode. Starmie came flying out of the water and landed on another island.

"Starmie, use Psychic!" Misty instructed.

Starmie's gem lit up, but it stopped suddenly. Misty gasped while Noah smirked. "Dark types are immune to psychic type attacks! I thought a gym leader would know that!" Noah said with a chuckle. Then he looked at the Umbreon and said "Now, use Faint Attack!"

Shadow dissapeared before reappearing right in front of Starmie moments before striking it. Starmie was sent soaring! It landed on its back on the island closest to Misty.

"Use Recover!" Misty called.

The star began to glow as it regained HP.

Noah's eyes widened. "Shadow, use Shadow Ball!" he instructed, knowing that Starmie would be vulnerable while it was recovering.

A ball of dark energy formed at the Umbreon's mouth. He held it in until it was large and powerful enough. Then, he released it. The ball flew toward the amethyst colored pokemon and struck right into its ruby-like core. Starmie was knocked into the water. When it surfaced, its gem was blinking.

"Starmie is unable to battle. The winner is Noah!" the ref called.

"Yeah!" Noah, Crusty and Shadow yelled in unison as Shadow lept over to join his friends.

Misty returned Starmie and walked over to the trio. She smiled. "You all did great. You've earned this," she said as she held out a water-drop shaped gem. "It's the Cascade Badge."

Noah accepted it and looked at it for a moment. It was a beautiful badge. It was baby blue in color and the way it was shaped and the way the light reflected off of it, you could of sworn that it was an actual drop of water. He gently placed it into his pocket. When he looked up, Misty was holding out a small canvas bag.

"You've also earned this. Fifty dollars and a Water Pulse TM," she said as he accepted the bag and pocketed it.

"Thank you," he told her as he scooped up Crusty and left the gym. He looked down at the lobster. "Now we're going to the pokemon center to get you guys taken care of."

Crusty grinned. "Okay, but then we have to get something to eat. My stomach is threatening to murder my liver if it doesn't get what it wants soon," he said as he placed a claw over his growling belly.

Noah chuckled. "Okay then. After we get your wounds taken care of, we'll get some grub."

"Thank God!" Crusty replied with a laugh as they made their way to the Pokemon Center.

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_Okay, I hope you liked it! Sorry if it's a bit short. The real action begins next chapter. Anyway, please click the indigo button and review!_


	5. Escape

_Okay, here's chapter five! It is a bit longer than the other chapters so far, so I hope your happy with it! It's mostly Noah with a little bit of Brooke at the end._

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Shadow felt as if his ears would start bleeding any second as he was forced to listen to Crusty sing 'Walking on Sunshine'. He tried to control his urge to strangle the lobster by wondering how Noah could just ignore it like he was doing then.

They reached the two story house with chipping white paint that they called 'home'. Shadow almost calapsed with relief when Crusty finally shut up. Noah opened the door and they walked inside.

The boy was a bit surprised to see his mother standing there waiting for him. It was dim in the living room, but the light from his father's beloved TV illuminated the woman's features. Her coal black hair blended into the gloom, but her pale skin stood out. Her lips formed a straight line and her almond-shaped obsidion eyes were narrowed.

'_Damn. I wonder what I did this time,'_ Noah thought to himself as he waited for her to say something.

"I saw the battle," she said in a low voice. "It was on the news."

Noah cursed under his breath and his heart began to beat a little faster. He knew what she would say next.

"Give me the damn winning money," she commanded, holding out her hand and glaring at him, a warning that she was not to be defied.

Noah felt his own sapphire eyes narrow as well. "Why? So you can spend it on your damn beer?! I don't think so. Shadow and Crusty earned that money and I'm not going to give it to you!"

Her eyes narrowed even more. "Don't you talk to me like that! Now do what I said and give me the fuckin' money you son of a bitch!" she snarled.

"I agree! I am a son of a bitch!"

She screamed with rage and her hand flew forward, slamming into his face with enough force to knock him to the ground.

Shadow felt something in him snap. He lept forward and seized the enraged woman's arm in his mouth, biting down until he could taste her blood dripping from his fangs onto his toung.

She gave a cry of anger and agony before slamming her good fist into his nose as hard as she could, causing him to cry out from the throbbing pain in his snout and release his hold on her arm.

"Shadow, Crusty run! Now!" Noah shouted as he climbed to his feet and ran for the stairs, his pokemon and mother in hot pursuit. He ran into his room and slammed the door shut the second his pokemon were safely in as well. His hand flew to the lock and twisted it seconds before a pounding was heard.

"Open the door ya piece of shit!"

"Yeah, lite THAT'S gonna happen," Crusty said sarcastically.

The pounding finally stopped. "Fine, have it your way. But tomarrow I'm takin' that mutt to have it put down!" she said before going to the bathroom to bandage her arm.

Noah sighed and let himself slide to the floor.

"What is that bitch's problem?!" Crusty exclaimed.

Noah sighed again. "It's not her fault really. It used to be different, but then she got depressed and started drinking. Now she's a bit addicted to it. It's the alcohol talking, not her."

"I can't believe you're defending her Noah! She obviously isn't right in the head and your dad's no better! He is so uncaring that he doesn't even do anything but watch TV! " Shadow scolded. "I seriously think we should run away. We can take care of ourselves! Besides, we have to leave anyway or she's going to have me killed!"

The black-haired boy bit his lip. "You're right. We do have to leave," he said as he got stood back up and walked over to his small closet. He pulled out his red back pack, still holding some of the things he'd packed when he was ten. He could still remember his father's exact words...

_"Noah, we all know that you're too much of a wimp to expect to win battles and make enough money to make the damn journey worth it. You'd be a lot more useful at home. I won't have you lazing around on some fuckin' pokemon journey when you could be doing something useful."_

Noah growled in anger before checking the bag. Yes, it still contained the tarp, space blanket, water purification tablets, book on edible plants and his pokedex along with a few other things. He added a couple of new items and a couple pieces of clothing before zipping it back up and placing it on his shoulders.

Then he walked over to his dresser and pulled out several pairs of pants. He tied the legs together before grabbing the sheets off of his bed. He knotted the corners together and tied the last pant lef around the knot. He checked all of the knots to make sure they were nice and tight before straightening.

"Crusty, climb into the sheet," he instructed.

The lobster pokemon was confused at first, but he caught on quickly and climbed in. Noah carefully opened his window and set Crusty on the ledge. To proceeded to slowly lower him to the grass below. After he climbed out, Noah hauled it back up.

"Your turn, Shadow," he said.

"How will you get down?" the fox inquired.

"Don't woryy about it. Just get in," he replied urgently, finally convincing the dark type to get into the makeshift basket. He carefully lifted it and did the same as he did with Crusty. But this time, he left it down.

He secured the other end of the rope of pants to his bed post, checking it several times to make sure that the knot was tight enough to support his weight. Then, he swung his legs outside the window, tightly gripped the rope and began to climb down.

About halfway down, he lost his hold on the rope and fell to the ground, the impact knocking the air from his lungs as well as cracking his back.

"Noah! You alright dude? How many fingers am I holding up?" Crusty said as he and Shadow ran forward to check on their friend.

Noah groaned and sat up as he took deep breaths to replenish his lost oxygen supply. He rubbed his head and gave the orange crustacian an amused look. "You don't even have fingers."

Crusty sighed in relief before grinning at Shadow. "Yep! Our little fugitive's brain is still functional!"

Shadow smirked. "Yeah, too bad yours isn't."

"Oh, real mature, Shadow," Crusty huffed as he put his claws on his sides. "Joke around when we should be getting the hell away from the scene of the crime. I'm ashamed of you!"

Noah smirked as he climbed to his feet and adjusted the bag on his shoulders. "You're only saying that because you couldn't come up with a decent comeback."

Crusty rolled his eyes. "You know, that saying about pokemon and their trainers starting to look and act alike might actually be true. You two are practically clones! I just hope that don't happen to me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself!" he said as they made their way to Route 5.

Shadow and Noah exchanged a look. They both looked at Crusty with a serious expression. "What are you talking about? We're completely different," they said in unison as smirks formed on their mouths.

"You have GOT to tell me how you do that," the amazed lobster muttered as they walked through the dimly lit opaqueness of the night.

"It's a secret. Very hush hush," Shadow said, still smirking.

Noah nodded. "Yeah. We could tell you, but then we'd have to kill you."

Crusty rolled his eyes again. Just then, one of his legs tripped over a small rock. He didn't fall down, but he was still annoyed. "I can barely see my own claw in front of my face! Did either of you idiots bring a flashlight?"

"Who needs a flashlight?" Noah replied with a shrug as Shadow lit up his rings. "And you call us idiots," he added when Crusty slapped himself in the forehead for forgetting about the Umbreon's ability.

"We can see in the dark perfectly fine, but my rings sure come in handy for you poor, half-blind suckers who need a light other than the moon," Shadow said to add fuel to the fire that was Crusty's annoyance.

"Well, at least I never have to worry about drowning! You poor fools are all lung, no gill. I feel sorry for you," the Corphish shot back, shaking his head back and forth in an act of pity.

"Yeah? Well..."

"Will you two just be quiet?! Jeez, you guys fight like an old married couple. We're trying to sneak away, remember?" Noah said in exhasperation.

"I don't play for that team," Shadow replied with a raissed eyebrow.

"Yeah! And even if we did, I'm too good for him," Crusty added, running a claw through his horns.

"In your dreams maybe."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"This is going to be one long, torturous night," Noah grumbled quietly to himself as he tried to tune out the sounds of the pokemons' bickering.

-ooo-

Brooke pulled her head from her now moist pillow when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her arm and shouted "Go away!"

"Brooke, it's Daddy. Can I please come in?" she heard her father's voice say.

She sighed and looked at Sophie, silently asking if she should say yes.

The violet feline nodded.

"Yeah, come on in."

The blond haired man entered. He sat down beside her on the bed and gave her a compassionate look from behing his glasses. "What's wrong?"

"Mom," she replied bitterly. "She told me that I couldn't be friends with Noah anymore. It's bad enough that she keeps trying to control me, but now she's trying to control the say I feel about people! Why does she hate him so much anyway?"

Her father sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "She thinks he's a bad influence because he dresses in dark clothes, doesn't talk much, has a dark type pokemon and tends to be a bit too quiet. Plus his mother is known to drink too much and his dad is just plain lazy, which is probably why they dont' have too much money. Your mother wants you to be a success like us. She probably thinks that him and his family will corrupt you."

Brooke's emerald eyes narrowed. "That is so prejudiced! He isn't anything like them. Just because his parents are screwed up doesn't mean that he is too! If Mom would actually get to know him..."

"That's the problem. He's too quiet. He only really talkes to you, his pokemon and those buddies of his who left on pokemon journeys," he interrupted. Then he smiled. "Besides, you didn't really start talking to him until he was your only option left. How can you expect your mother to?"

Brooke crosser her arms. She knew he had her beat, but she wasn't giving up just yet. "Speaking of which, why did she make me stay home when I could have been travelling?"

"You know why. She was afraid that you'd get hurt. Besides, there's a lot of weirdos out there. She's just trying to keep you safe," he said softly, putting an arm around her shoulders.

She looked him in the eye and said "Now, answer me this Dad. What do you think about Noah and me going on my journey?"

He closed his big, brown eyes in thought. He pondered over it for a moment or two before opening them again. "I think that the decisions are yours to make. We can't protect you forever and I trust your judgement. Only you can decide your destiny. It's your life, so you control it," he said, kissing her forehead and getting up to leave. "Good night, Brooke. I love you," he added as he left.

Sophie turned her head and smiled at her. "Your father's a very wise man. Clever too. I don't know many other people who could get the final word in with you."

Brooke grinned and threw one of her pillows at the Espeon. They both laughed before climbing into bed.

Sophie fell asleep quickly, but insomnia kept Brooke up. She gazed out the window at the gibbous moon, the same thought playing in her head again and again.

"Only I can decide my destiny," she said aloud softly before being claimed by the relm of sleep.

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_Okay. Now please hit the indigo button and review. I NEED YOUR REVIEWS TO LIVE!!_


	6. Running Away to Destiny

_Thanks for reviewing! Okay, here's chapter six. I know, I have very boring author's notes. Oh, and I'm sorry if the Pidgey thing is a bit cheesy. I have cheesy thoughts a lot and it was the only thing I could think of! Anyway, please r&r!_

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Brooke waited for her parents to leave for work before heading out. If Noah couldn't come to her house, then she'd just go to his. No matter how much his parents freaked her out. Soon, she was standing in front of his house. She could hear shouting and cursing coming from inside.

"What do you think happened?" Brooke asked.

"I don't know, girl. But I hear a lot of Noah's name and a lot of swear words," Sophie replied, her large, sensitive ears picking up bits and pieces of what was being said.

"I hope he's alright," the girl said in a worried tone as she ran up to the door, took a deep breath and knocked.

"ROB! GET YOUR LAZY ASS OFF THE FUCKIN' COUCH AND ANSWER THE FUCKIN' DOOR!!"

Brooke and Sophie both cringed. She sounded really mad.

They heard grumbling before the door opened. A man with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes stood there. He grumbled and held up and arm to keep the sun out of his eyes. "What do ya want?"

Brooke gulped. "Um, we're friends of Noah's. Is he home?"

Before Rob could answer, they were inturrupted by Noah's mother. "WHO THE HELL IS IT?!"

"IT'S A FRIEND OF NOAH'S, TERRA!" he called back.

Terra, Noah's mother, automatically came to the door, shoving Rob aside as she stared out at the slightly frightened girls. "Where is he?" she asked coldly, her breath smelling like a mix of alcohol and cigarettes.

"Wh...wh...what?" Brooke stammered, her heart pounding from the look in the older woman's obsidion eyes.

"You heard me you little bitch. Where is Noah?" Terra repeated.

Brooke managed to hold her toung. She was too scared to try and start something anyway. "I don't know. I thought he was here, which was why I came."

"Well you're out of luck. The little bastard ran away like the pussy he is. We found a rope hanging out of his window. Now get the hell off of my property," Terra said before slamming the door in their faces.

Brooke and Sophie ran to the street, scared that she'd be angrier if they disobeyed an order. Once they were safely away from the house, Brooke said "Noah actually ran away?!"

Sophie shrugged. "I guess. Hey, I would too if I were him."

"What do I do know?" Brooke asked with a sigh as she sat down on the grass. "I'm happy that he escaped and I know he can handle it, but it'll be too dull around here if it's just you and me. No offence."

"None taken," Sophie said with a smile. "If you ask me, you have two options. Option one is that you stay here with me as your only friend, wondering what kind of adventures the others are having that you're missing out on. Option two is to take a chance and leave. Start your pokemon journey. If you ask me, I think you're ready."

Brooke sighed. She stood up and began the walk home, rolling her options around in her mind as Sophie walked beside her, waiting for her decision.

_'Maybe Sophie's right. Maybe I am ready. But then again, maybe Mom's right, maybe I will get hurt. This is way too many maybes,' _she thought as her body seemed to switch to autopilot, walking on its own.

Sophie watched her. She'd been the girl's best friend for more than four years and she already had a pretty good idea of what the girl would choose. At times, Sophie knew Brooke better than Brooke knew herself.

Suddenly, Brooke stopped walking. She looked up from the ground and stared at the sky, her gaze landing on a Pidgey as it flew through a cloud.

_'That Pidgey could have flown into something while it couldn't see, but it took the risk and flew right through. I have to take a chance too. There are practically no absolutes in life. If you never took chances, what kind of life would it be? Like Dad said, only I can control my destiny,' _she thought to herself, feeling a smile form on her lips and her eyes fill with determination.

Sophie took one look at her and knew that she had picked the right thing.

"Come on, Sophie! We need to head out before Mom and Dad come home!" Brooke said with a grin as she sprinted toward her house, the Espeon right behind her.

They ran up the stairs to her room. Brooke took a moment to look around. This had been her place for years and it would be a long time before she saw it again. After a moment of reflecting, she got together all the things that she thought she might need. Things that she'd collected through her initial journey preparation, camping trips and aborted run away plans.

Yes, she'd chickened out of running away a couple of times before, but this time would be different. She was determined to follow through with her decision.

She packed all of the things into her purple backpack and swung it onto her shoulders. She grabbed a notebook and pen before sitting down on her bed to write a note for her parents. She didn't want them to worry that she'd been kidnapped.

When she was finished writing it, she walked downstairs and taped it to the front door. Then, she walked outside and stood to take in the sight of her house for a moment. It had both her protecting comfort zone and her confining prison her entire life and she had to admit that she would miss it.

But other things were calling her.

"There's a gym in Vermillion City, right?" she asked.

Sophie nodded. "Yep. So that's where we're going?"

"You bet," Brooke replied with a smile as they took the first steps of their adventure.

-ooo-

"Do you want me to take a turn carrying the weakling?" Shadow asked as they walked along the trail. "After all, you already have to carry the backpack."

Noah adjusted Crusty, who was sleeping in his arms. "He's not a weakling just because he fell asleep. He's not nocturnal, like you and he's not used to opperating on minimal sleep, like me. And it's okay, I'll carry him. Besides, I think he's too heavy for you."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "I was just joking about the weakling thing. Jeez. Now, give me the stupid lobster. You need to take a break."

Noah sighed before kneeling down and placing Crusty on the Umbreon's back. Then he straightened and continued walking.

"So, if you don't like to battle or capture pokemon, what are we going to do? Just wonder around aimlessly?" Shadow asked, trying to take his mind off of the fact that Crusty snores and drools in his sleep.

"I really don't know. I figured that I'd decide on that later," Noah said with a shrug.

"Oh, come on, Noah!" Shadow pressed. "You can't tell me you haven't been thinking about it too."

"Okay, you're right. I have been thinking about it," Noah confessed. "I can't be a trainer or a gym leader because I don't like to battle. Same goes for being a coordinator. Being a watcher just isn't my thing and being a breeder is just disturbing. I'm not smart enough to be a professor and I don't like the way rangers control the pokemons' wills. I really don't know what I'm going to be or what I'm going to do..."

"Woah, you really have been thinking a lot about it," Shadow replied. "Maybe you could get a normal, non pokemon related job. Or you could travel around and do some soul searching."

"Maybe," Noah mumbled.

"President Yankovic! Look out! He's got a plunger!!" Crusty yelled out suddenly, rolling off of Shadow's back and startling his two friends.

Once they had calmed down, Shadow and Noah switched their gazes between each other and the still sleeping Corphish. Then, they burst into laughter, waking up their lobster friend as they collapsed onto the forest floor.

"Dudes? Are you alright?" Crusty asked as he watched his normally calm friends roll around on the ground, laughing insanely."

Finally, they stopped laughing and got back up, still grinning as they nodded to Crusty.

"Yeah, we're alright. Better than alright actually. We really needed a good laugh," Noah replied with a grin as Shadow nodded in agreement.

They began walking again. Shadow was thankful that Crusty had waken up and was now walking on his own. Meanwhile, Crusty was grumbling to himself. _'I hate when I miss out on something funny,' _he thought in annoyance as they continued along the path to Vermillion.

-ooo-

"Okay Sophie. The Pidgey got away after it used Sand Attack and that Poochyena ran away too fast. We need to concentrate if we want to catch out first wild pokemon," Brooke said as they walked through the forest, taking care to stay near the trail so that they wouldn't get lost.

"Yeah. We need to buckle down," Sophie agreed. Suddenly, she stopped. Her ears pricked up as she concentrated on the sound of teeth knawing on a seed. "Follow me," she instructed before funning toward the sound.

Sophie ran through the undergrowth, careful not to make too much noise until she was close enough. Finally, she was within range. She used Quick Attack, striking the Rattata male and sending him into a tree.

Brooke was not far behind. She was the Rattata and grinned. She had a thing for purple. "Sophiem use Sand Attack!" she calledm hoping to temporarilly blind him and making it harder for him to get away.

Sophie kicked up the dust, aiming for the Rattata's face.

He tried to counter with a Hyper Fang, but it missed. He couldn't see well with dust in his eyes.

"Now, use Psybeam!" Brooke commanded.

The Espeon fired the rainbow colored beam at the smaller pokemon. She smiled when it fell to the ground in exhaustion.

The girl grabbed one of the pokeballs on her belt and expanded it. She tossed it toward the mouse and watched as he was sucked in by the red light. She bit her lip as the ball rocked back and forth. Finally, the ball locked and went still. She squealed and ran forward to pick it up.

"We did it, Sophie! We caught our first wild pokemon!" she cheered happily as she picked it up and placed it on her belt. "Now, lets hurry to the next town to heel our new friend and introduce ourselves."

Sophie nodded and they made their way back to the trail, still grinning from the happiness of their little, but important accomplishment.

-ooo-

"What's the matter?" Brooke's dad asked when he walked in to find his wife crying. "Is Brooke alright?"

"No! Thanks to you, Alan!" she replied.

"What do you mean?" Alan asked in a confused voice.

She handed him the note that she held in her hand. It read...

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_I have to take a chance and follow my heart. I am leaving on my pokemon journey. Don't worry about me, I took plenty of supplies and I have Sophie with me. Don't feel bad or upset, this has nothing to do with you. Like Dad said, "Only you can control your destiny." I love both of you very much and I always will. I'll miss you._

Alan smiled. He was proud that she had taken his advice and he was happy that she was following her heart. He knew that his daughter could take good care of herself.

Naomi, however, was devastated. "Why are you smiling?! Our daughter just ran away from home and she could get hurt! There's nothing to smile about!!"

Alan sighed. "Naomi, I love you, but I disagree. She didn't run away from home. She ran away to her destiny."

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_Okay, there it was. You'll find out the name of the Rattata next chapter. Now, please review!_


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